Author Post by Roberta Temes Ph.D.,Author of Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again

How to Write a Eulogy
By Roberta Temes Ph.D.,
Author of Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again

Are you preparing a eulogy? Here's some help:

It is an honor to commemorate the life of a person who has recently died.
The eulogy serves many purposes for those in the audience:
• It fulfills the human need for ceremony to mark an occasion; the death should not go unrecognized.
• It comforts the listeners to have their feelings put into words.
• It comforts the listeners to know that the deceased was understood.
• It provides a cathartic opportunity for the listeners; they can weep with no censure.
• It is a way to immortalize the deceased; your words will live on.
• It is an opportunity to educate listeners about some personal traits of the deceased.
• It is an opportunity to bring some respectful levity to a sad event.
To get ready to write the eulogy think about the deceased and jot down about ten words that come to mind. The words can be positive or negative, silly or serious. Then think about some experiences you had with the deceased and write them down. You can write just a few words to represent each experience or incident that you recall -- no need to have a full sentence. These jottings are random thoughts and ideas.
Keeping the page you have just written in front of you, begin to follow the directions below. Use the words and phrases on your page to help follow these instructions. After it is all written find ways to include any unused items on your original sheet of paper.
• The first word you say should be the name of the deceased.
This is not about you. Do not begin by saying, I loved my brother. Instead say, Larry was my older brother.
• The next sentence or two should explain and then describe your relationship.
Larry teased me every day of my childhood and inspired me everyday of my adulthood.
• Summarize in one or two sentences the essence of Larry's life.
Larry was a good husband and father and a devoted employee of the publishing company where he worked as a production manager for 24 years.
• Now tell the audience something they don't know about the deceased. Reveal some accomplishments.
You may not have known that Larry was on his college fencing team and that he won several national competitions. Also, Larry was voted employee of the year by his fellow-workers just a couple of years ago.
• Reveal some character traits, humor encouraged.
You always saw Larry looking neat and clean. I am here to tell you that this man took two showers every day and often changed his shirt during the day. Some might think that he was obsessive; he thought he was setting a good example for those around him. In our family we called him Mr. Clean.
• Create a scene that will permit audience members to visualize the deceased.
You know if Larry were sitting there with you now he'd have his hand under his chin, as usual, and he'd have his serious face on. He'd be studying everyone who was speaking. Probably he'd be wearing his blue tie that he saved for funerals and weddings. As soon as the service is over Larry would rip off the tie -- he never was comfortable in ties -- and rush home for his sneakers so he could go for a run, or maybe a jog. Oh, and if you saw him in his house you know where he'd be sitting -- on that great big recliner, with two pillows propped under his head and he would be reading USA Today and the TV would be on but he'd have no idea what program he was watching.
• Describe an incident that will enlighten the audience.
Last month Larry and I went to a train auction. Not toy trains. Real railroad cars. Larry had no intention of buying them but he enjoyed hanging out with guys who did really buy trains. He wanted me to come along with him to share the excitement. I actually was bored but it was clear that my brother was in all his glory inspecting the trains beforehand, chatting up the engineers who were there, and then watching the bidding.
• If you are religious this is the place to make a religious statement.
Larry is in a good place now. I know he's with our mom and dad and I know he'll be watching over all of us.
• Say what you will most miss about the person.
I'm going to miss Larry's Sunday morning phone calls -- we spoke to each other every Sunday morning for as long as I can remember.
• Gently and humorously say what you won't miss.
Now that he's gone, I hope I don't start feeling a need to go to railroad car auctions.
• Put your feelings into one or two sentences.
I feel so lost and so bereaved right now. I can't imagine going about my daily life without my big brother.
• Say how his life has touched and influenced you.
Because of Larry I feel guilty if I don't take a shower every day, I feel guilty if I drive in to the city and don't take a railroad train in, and I learned how to be a good husband and a playful dad by watching him.
• Mention what you have learned from the person, what he has taught you by example.
In addition to extreme cleanliness Larry taught me to be a stand-up guy and take responsibility for whatever needed to be done. By observing his life I learned how to be a decent family man and a hard working employee. Thank you, Larry.
• Death tends to get us to think about life. We think about what is really important and what we most value. Talk about the values of the deceased.
As you know, Larry really valued hard work. He cared about trying hard and he put all his energy into everything he did, whether it was raking the leaves, going to a meeting for work, or preparing a sandwich.
• Say how his death has touched and influenced you.
Larry went through a couple of months of serious illness and he never once complained. Instead, he cheered up everyone who came to visit. He told us not to feel sorry for him. He wanted us to tell him jokes. I now have a huge repertoire of knock-knock jokes.
• Mention any family members or close friends who deserve recognition.
My nephews, Howard and Gary, and of course my sister-in-law, Linda, are amazing people and deserve so much recognition for all they did during these past months. I know you join me in wishing Linda, Howard, and Gary an easy road through bereavement and a life filled with good memories.
• Again, mention how you feel -- sad? Lost? Relieved? Empty? Exhausted?
This has all happened so quickly it's hard to believe that at Thanksgiving dinner none of us thought about Larry's death or illness. I think I am still stunned.
• This is the place for a particular quotation or bible passage or brief poem. The reading you select should:
Describe how you are feeling, or
Describe how the deceased led his life, or
Offer courage and inspiration to the listeners.
You have my permission to quote from Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again. Here are some sample quotes you may wish to use. I've slightly modified and changed some words -- feel free to do the same -- to better suit your circumstance.
Think about making the world a better place because of one or two little things you might do in Larry's memory. Acts of kindness go a long way.
Larry would wish your days to be filled with kindness and goodness and your nights to be filled with secure sleep and sweet peace.

When you finish writing the eulogy, practice saying it aloud. Read it several times. Insert a new sentence or two and eliminate any sentences that don't seem right. Time the eulogy with your watch while reading it aloud. If there are several speakers at the service your eulogy should not be more than 3 minutes. If you are the only speaker you may go on longer, but not long enough to bore people.

It is a good idea to use a recording device. Then you will have a permanent record of all eulogies at the funeral. You can make copies to distribute to friends and family. Throughout the mourning process listening to the eulogies will provide comfort. Later generations will regard the eulogies as important family/genealogic history.
©2009 Roberta Temes Ph.D., author of Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again

Author Bio
Roberta Temes, Ph.D., author of Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again, is a noted psychotherapist who has taught classes in death, dying, and bereavement at schools such as Downstate Medical School and CUNY. She is the author of several books, including the award-winning Living with an Empty Chair: A Guide Through Grief and The Tapping Cure. She lives in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

For more information please visit www.DrRoberta.com and www.SolaceAfteraDeath.com.
Solace
Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again
By Roberta Temes Ph.D.
Published by AMACOM
July 2009; $14.95US; 978-08144-1463-7

Author Post by Linda Weaver Clarke

Mix a Happy-go-lucky Bachelor with a Roaring 20s Woman and You Have: Elena, Woman of Courage

The “Roaring Twenties” was a time of great change, when women raised their hemlines and bobbed their hair. It was a time of adventure, courage, and independence.

In the 1920s, the new generation spoke a language that their parents didn’t understand. They had words like: Cat’s pajamas! Ah, horsefeathers! Attaboy! Baloney! You slay me! When referring to a woman, they used doll, tomato, and bearcat. When a person was in love, they were goofy. If a person was a fool, they were a sap. And when a woman wasn’t in the mood for romance, she would say, “The bank’s closed.” Elena, Woman of Courage: A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho (ISBN: 978-1-58982-545-1) is filled with courage, romance, and humor.

When a woman settles into a strict conservative town as the newest doctor, a slew of problems begin to rise. The town is not ready for a female doctor, let alone one so strong and independent. Elena Yeates, the town’s newest doctor, must struggle to prove herself in this western town, while keeping her composure, poise, and femininity. As she fights to prove herself, the town’s most eligible bachelor finds it a challenge to see if he can win her heart. With the 1920’s rise of women’s rights, this novel gives you great insight at the struggles women had to go through, all the while watching a young love blossom!

“Elena, Woman of Courage is a wonderful book full of history, passion and romance, as well as a touch of suspense and humor,” wrote Kim Atchue-Cusella, Book Loons. “The characters are matched perfectly and it is sweet to watch romance develop between John and Elena. This was the last of five books in the series and it has been a joy to watch the family grow and prosper.”

Elena is a courageous woman who went to college during a time when women were not encouraged to be educated beyond high school. The 1920s was a time of change when women began fighting for their rights. After getting her degree as a doctor, she moves to the West to set up her own practice. When she arrives in a small town in Idaho, she meets Mr. Anderson who opposes her from day one but Elena’s stubborn nature will not allow her to give up. In her fight for equality, she learns to love the people of Bear Lake Valley and realizes she has found a home at last.

When Elena meets John Roberts, a rugged and good-looking farmer, she does not trust his intentions. As she gets to know him, she finds that he has deep respect for the education of women and abhors prejudice. John is the son of Gilbert and Melinda, but there is one thing that stands in the way of happiness. He is terrified of marriage and commitment. He is known as the “Happy-go-lucky Bachelor.”

“Linda Weaver Clarke displays an easy and excellent style of writing, blending adventure/romance/history/humor and courage. A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho is an instant classic and should put this author on the literary map all over the world. A MUST read!”– Page One Literary Book Review

About the Author
Linda Weaver Clarke travels throughout the United States, teaching a “Family Legacy Workshop,” encouraging others to turn their family history and autobiography into a variety of interesting stories. Her novel “Melinda and the Wild West” was a Semi-Finalist in the “Reviewers Choice Awards 2007.” The historical fiction series, A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho will include the following novels: Melinda and the Wild West, Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, Jenny’s Dream, David and the Bear Lake Monster, and Elena, Woman of Courage.

“Elena, Woman of Courage” (ISBN: 978-1-58982-545-1, American Book Publishing, 2009). For more information, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com. Publicity contact: www.american-book.com.

Author Post: Laura Dave Author of The Divorce Party: A Novel

5 Reasons to Celebrate a Break-Up
By Laura Dave
Author of The Divorce Party: A Novel

This weekend, I am going to my favorite place on earth: Big Sur, California (pop: 1,049) -- a beautiful town on the Monterey Peninsula. In anticipation, I pulled out my books by Henry Miller, a writer closely associated with the area. As I flipped through the pages, I came across a saying from Miller's lover, the author Anais Nin, that I had handwritten into the margin. Nin wrote: Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing.

Running my fingers over these words, I started thinking of my most recent novel, The Divorce Party, in which two women find themselves fighting not to let love die. And I recalled all of the people I spoke with over the course of working on The Divorce Party who found themselves fighting that same fight -- and sometimes deciding it was better to let it go. These are five reasons that they shared with me, and to which I return when someone close to me is struggling with a break-up.

1. Some Relationships Are Meant To Be Seasonal

Ty, a man I spoke with in Cleveland, was devastated when his first relationship after his divorce ended badly. He wanted to marry his new partner. But after closer inspection of their relationship -- she was only recently separated herself, they had conflicting ideas about marriage and family, they had different values -- he acknowledged that what he liked best about their relationship was that it provided distraction and comfort during a mutually difficult time. "We have passion, but, when I'm honest with myself, I don't know what we have in common on the other side of all of our drama," Ty said.

In Ty's candor, he has hit on something that is important to remember: some relationships are meant to be seasonal. They get us through a tricky period, they make us feel alive again. But that doesn't necessarily translate into two people being compatible for longer commitment. A psychologist, who I spoke with after Ty, said it eloquently: "Feeling love or passion is not enough to sustain a long-term relationship. Liking your partner is just as important. Ask yourself: do you enjoy spending time together? If you do, find a way through the inevitable problems. If you don't, ask yourself if your relationship has served its purpose."

2. The Wrong Person Can Make Us Feel Wrong

A couple in New Mexico, Cassie and Jason, met and married in three months. It was a whirlwind. Sadly, after the dust settled, Cassie realized that her husband liked the whirlwind more than being married. "As much as I bend myself into a pretzel to make him happy," Cassie said. "He criticizes me and makes me feel like I'm failing him."

It is human to feel that it's your fault when a relationship goes awry, especially if you have a partner who is more interested in finger-pointing than getting to the crux of what is ailing the two of you. But there is a difference between working hard on a relationship and working too hard. If someone is constantly meeting your efforts with endless negativity, it may be time to consider changing the conversation.

3. The Rope Gets Awfully Heavy . . .

When I spoke with a book club in New Jersey last year, we ended up discussing what makes relationships work. We came to an image of two people on either side of a long rope, holding their ends up. The key is that both people don't drop the rope at the same time -- that if the rope stays raised, even on one side, the relationship stays safe. I like this image because it suggests the mutual caretaking inherent to a good relationship. Which led to one of the book club members confessing the flipside: "My first marriage was over when I realized I was the only one holding up that rope. I never got a chance to rest, to reboot. It became too much."

No one can be the only one to hold the rope, not all of the time. We all -- at the end of the day -- need someone to help. If we find ourselves moving on from someone who wasn't, that -- in the end of a new day -- can be a big relief.

4. The Universe Sometimes Has More Interesting Plans For Us Than We Have For Ourselves

A woman I spoke with in Oregon took me on a tour of her home. It was her dream home, and she proudly explained that she wakes up there with the feeling that she's exactly where she's supposed to be. But she only found this peacefulness on the other side of a devastating heartbreak. "I fought like cats and dogs to stay with someone who was wrong for me," she said. "Thankfully, I lost that fight and ended up in the right life."

This reminds me of something crucial: we're not always wise witnesses to our own lives. Sometimes, in spite of tightly clinging to an idea of how we want our life to be, the universe has a plan for us that is braver and better than the one we had for ourselves. The good news is, when we stay open to it, the universe often finds a way to deliver us there.

5. You Get To Bring You Wherever You Go Next

I was surprised when a male book club member in California announced proudly that Sleepless In Seattle was his favorite movie. He loved the sentiment expressed by the radio host who brings the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan characters together. She said: people who truly loved once are far more likely to love again.

I stand by this sentiment, and believe in its truth. The kindness and goodness and joy -- the ability to love -- that you give to a partner lives inside you. If the person sitting across the table from you can't accept those gifts, be excited. As hard as it may feel, be excited to give the best pieces of yourself to someone who is able to accept them. As the man in California wisely said: "happy endings don't always come in the form that we hope for. But, for those of us who believe in them, and work for them, they do come."

©2009 Laura Dave, author of The Divorce Party: A Novel

Author Bio
Laura Dave is the author of the acclaimed novels The Divorce Party and London Is the Best City in America. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, Self, Redbook, ESPN the Magazine, and The New York Observer. Dave graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. In August, Cosmopolitan magazine named her as one of the eight "Fun and Fearless Phenoms" of 2008. She lives in California.

For more information, please visit http://lauradave.com/

Guest post by Linda Weaver Clarke

Deep-rooted Legends, a Tender Love Story, and the Bear Lake Monster is focus of New Novel

Enter the world of “Make Believe” and read about the legend of the Bear Lake Monster, long family traditions, a tender love story, and a few mysterious events!

Scotland has the Lock Ness Monster and Bear Lake Valley has theirs. Do they really exist? The mystery of the Bear Lake Monster has been an exciting part of Idaho history since the early 1800s. David begins to wonder about this legend in “David and the Bear Lake Monster” (ISBN: 978-1-58982-532-1). As the waves splash gently upon the shore and the full moon shines brightly upon Bear Lake, a deep foreboding is in the air and the fawn, sipping from the lake, can sense it. His ears perk up and he stands still. Only the sounds of nature can be heard, but the deer senses that he is in danger and quickly darts away. A few feet from shore, the water abruptly parts and exposes a gigantic brown lump about 90-feet long. Water trickles down its sides as it floats in the stillness of the night.

Midwest Book Review wrote: “With a blend of romance, this deftly written historical fiction series is well deserving of a place in community library historical fiction collections.”

When David returns to the Robert’s family for a visit, he learns about the great Indian legend: the Bear Lake Monster. When he discovers people still believe in this legend, he sets out to prove that it doesn’t exist but the community is insulted that anyone would try to discredit something they have believed in for years. Their legend is sacred to them and part of Bear Lake history. Searching for true happiness, David is reunited with the Roberts family, trying to overcome his troubles! David quickly becomes one with the town and its folk. He finds himself entranced with one very special lady and ends up defending her honor several times. She isn’t like the average woman. Sarah is different. This beautiful and charming woman has a disability that no one seems to notice. He finds out that Sarah has gone through more trials than the average person. She teaches him the importance of not dwelling on the past and how to love life. After a few teases, tricks, and mischievous deeds, David begins to overcome his troubles. As time passes, he realizes he must now face the dilemma of choosing between his work and matters of the heart.

“David and the Bear Lake Monster will keep readers entertained right up to the last page,” wrote Kim Atchue-Cusella of Book Loons. “Linda Weaver Clarke creates another winner with this installment of her Family Saga in Bear Lake Valley series.”

About the Author

Linda Weaver Clarke was raised on a farm surrounded by the rolling hills of southern Idaho. She now makes her home in southern Utah among the beautiful red mountains. Clarke travels throughout the United States, teaching a “Family Legacy Workshop,” encouraging others to turn their family history and autobiography into a variety of interesting stories.

“David and the Bear Lake Monster” (ISBN: 978-1-58982-532-1, American Book Publishing, 2009). For more information, visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com. Publicity contact: www.american-book.com.

Author Post: Sean Beaudoin Author of Fade to Blue

I had a friend in high school. She was short and wore nerdy glasses and black skirts and really liked bands like The Cure and Bauhaus and Echo and the Bunnymen. I liked heavier guitar-oriented stuff, but when she’d come over and say hi to my mom, accept a cookie, and then tromp up to my room, I usually let her DJ. We never did anything particularly interesting. I had a small, dark room with ugly brown carpet and dark blue walls covered with posters of athletes I no longer cared about. We’d lay on the floor and listen to music. We’d prop our feet on pillows and make fun of things in low voices and cut up her fashion magazines. She used pinking shears and I used my dad’s army knife. She’d purposely spill the glue on me. I’d make her smell my sock. She’d talk about wanting to change her hair color and I’d talk about wanting to change it back. She always had some guy she liked who never approached her and I always had some girl I liked I was afraid to approach. It was utterly unromantic. There was never any thought that we’d be a couple and never any weird tension about it. We were cool and easy and it didn’t need a lot of analysis. She had a tiny little hatchback we drove around town in. My legs barely fit under the dash. It smelled like the baby of the aunt she’d bought it from, and was always running out of gas.

It went on like that for a year.

And then we just stopped hanging out.

I’m still not sure why.

When someone asks me what Fade To Blue is about, I usually give them a pretty stock answer: losing your mind, being paranoid, trust, having a little brother, ice cream, basketball, zombie fantasies, nurses, that guy, that girl, that parent. I tell them that because the truth is too hard to explain. The truth is that Fade To Blue is really about what it felt like for that year to be lying on my bedroom floor. With that friend. To not be worried about what you said or did or if you acted stupid or if your joke was funny enough. Being at ease and understood. Knowing someone’s reference before it even comes out of their mouth. Fade To Blue is about clangy music and bad sweaters and an entire pubescence of lousy stuff to choose from in the fridge.

And then losing all that. For no good reason. I wanted to capture that feeling, and somehow it just ended up becoming a book.

www.seanbeaudoin.com

Author Post - Deborah LeBlanc author of Water Witch

Paranormal Plus
By Deborah LeBlanc,
Author of Water Witch

When I started delving into paranormal investigation years ago, my adventures were done alone and with little more than a disposable camera, compass, flashlight, and a set of brass balls. Over time, I collected more sophisticated tools of the trade, like an EMF detector, infrared cameras, etc. The set of brass balls remained a constant. Eventually, I joined professional paranormal investigation teams, began traveling to purported haunted locations throughout the country, and even did some scouting for MTV's Fear program.

Over the years, I've visited hundreds of cemeteries, and my camera's caught flying orbs near Poe's grave in Baltimore, squiggly strings of white light that wove through tombs in old family plots in Nebraska, and child-size shadows perched atop two headstones in Atlanta, Georgia. Oddly enough, the cemetery known as the most haunted in America, Big Woods Cemetery, offered nothing but hungry mosquitoes.

The most fascinating experience I've had in a cemetery came from a small town in Mire, La., where my maternal grandfather is buried. One evening I took my youngest daughter (who was fourteen at the time) and two of her friends out for burgers. While we're eating, my daughter decides to tell her friends about the weird things her mom does for fun . . . like ghost hunting. They grow wide-eyed, of course, and ask a million questions, their last one being, "Can you take us to a cemetery and show us how to hunt for ghosts . . . like now?"

My daughter then gives me that, "You've gotta, Mom, 'cause they'll think I'm so cool!" look. Geez . . .

Before long I had three fourteen year-olds (2 girls, 1 boy) begging -- loudly -- to ghost hunt. Although I envisioned angry parents pounding on my front door later that night, insisting I be taken away to a mental ward, I couldn't resist those cherub faces. That, and the fact that they pooled their money and bribed me with a slice of chocolate cake did me in.

Wanting to minimize any risks, I thought of the most benign cemetery I knew -- St. Theresa's in Mire, La. The cemetery sits on a corner lot in the middle of town. Beside it is a church and across the street is a gas station and Mire City Hall. Streetlights line both sides of the street, so in truth, the spookiest thing about the place is the creak of the cemetery gate when you open it.

So, armed with a digital camera and a flashlight, both of which are always in my car, we head for the cemetery. Once there, the kids stay glued to my side, whispering to each other, looking over their shoulder every few minutes as we walked amongst the graves. A car backfired in the distance, and the boy gasped so loudly, I thought he'd swallowed his tongue. We had a good laugh over that, which helped the kids to relax and eventually wonder off on their own to different tombs. All the while I'm snapping pictures, hoping
for an orb or two, but getting absolutely nothing -- note the picture below.

It wasn't long before I spotted my grandfather's grave, (below). I was three when he passed away, so my daughters never knew him.

As I drew closer to the tomb, I got a sudden, overwhelming urge to 'introduce' my grandfather to my youngest. So I called my daughter over, showed her the tomb, then said aloud, "Pop-pop, (which is what everyone called him) this is your great-granddaughter, Sarah." No sooner did the words leave my mouth than another urge hit. Take a picture . . . now! So I did.

And this is what showed up.

This image, which stood at the foot of my grandfather's tomb, wasn't physically seen by any of us. Had it not been for the camera, we would have never known it was there. Is this my grandfather stopping by to say hello? I don't know. But it sure is cool to consider the possibility!

In my many travels, and with the aid of better equipment, I've managed to capture oddities, like the one, as well as strange, disjointed voices on digital recorders. But after fifteen years of investigating, I still can't lay claim to having seen a full-bodied apparition. Maybe I'm too much of a Doubting Thomas for spirits to bother materializing when I'm around. I did learn the hard way, though, that you don't have to see a ghost to make it angry.

©2009 Deborah LeBlanc, author of Water Witch

Author Bio
Deborah LeBlanc, author of Water Witch, is an award-winning author from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is also a business owner, a licensed death scene investigator, and an active member of two national paranormal investigation teams. Deborah's unique experiences, enthusiasm, and high-energy level make her a much sought-after speaker at writer's conferences across the nation. She also takes her passion for literacy and a powerful ability to motivate to high schools around the country.

She is the president of the Horror Writers Association, the Writers' Guild of Acadiana, Mystery Writers of America's Southwest Chapter, and an active member of Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Women Writers, and International Thriller Writers Inc. In 2004, Deborah created the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual national campaign designed to encourage more people to read, and soon after founded Literacy Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting illiteracy in America.

For more information please visit http://www.theleblancchallenge.com/

Ten Trivia Facts You Probably Used to Know By Caroline Taggart, Author of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School

Ten Trivia Facts You Probably Used to Know By Caroline Taggart, Author of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School

You know how it is -- the kids come home from school full of enthusiasm for a new subject, ask you to explain something, and you think, "Oh, yes, I used to know that." When I started to write a book on things you'd forgotten from your schooldays, I realised that I half- knew lots of stuff. I'd heard of phrases and clauses, but did I know the difference between them? I had a vague idea about photosynthesis -- it's to do with how plants grow, isn't it? But doesn't being green come into it somewhere? And then there was the War of 1812 -- what was that all about?

So there are three Top Trivia Questions to start with; I'll answer them and then I'll give you seven more. That way, even if you can't answer the kids' questions, you can quickly change the subject and throw in some knowledge of your own.

Language: What's the difference between a clause and a phrase? These are the building blocks of a sentence. The difference is that a clause contains a subject and a verb. It often stands alone as a simple sentence (He loves dogs), but may also be part of a longer sentence (He loves dogs, but he doesn't own one). A phrase is a group of words in a sentence that does not contain a subject and a verb (In the afternoon, he took his mother's dog for a walk).

Biology: What is photosynthesis? It is -- as we suspected -- to do with how plants grow. It's the process by which they convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates, using the energy they absorb from light by means of a green pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is stored mainly in the leaves and is the reason most plants are green. Photosynthesis releases oxygen into the atmosphere, enabling the rest of us to breathe.

History: The war of 1812, between the U.S. and Britain, actually lasted nearly three years, from 1812 to 1815. Britain was already at war with France (under Napoleon) and the U.S. sided with the French. American ships, trying to break a blockade that would prevent supplies from reaching France, were being seized by the British, who then coerced American seamen into the Royal Navy. On top of that, the U.S.
was disputing British control of territories in Canada; New England's support for Britain complicated the issue further. This war -- the last time the U.S. and Britain fought on opposing sides -- ended in stalemate when the British defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequently lifted their blockade.

Literature: Where does the expression 'It just growed' come from? It's a misquotation from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-96), a fiercely anti-slavery novel published in 1852, when this was the political hot potato in America. The most famous character is the slave girl Topsy, who didn't know where she came from (i.e. didn't realise that God had made her) and said, 'I s'pect I growed.'

Math: who was that Pythagoras guy anyway? He was a Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 6th century BC. His theorem (the word comes from the same root as "theory" but means something that can be proved) states that in a right-angled triangle "the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides." The hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle, opposite the right angle. This theorem really really matters to mathematicians, because it is fundamental to calculations used in architecture, engineering, astronomy, navigation and the like.

Geography: which were the original 13 states of the Union? In alphabetical order: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia. Delaware was the first to ratify the new constitution and is nicknamed "The First State" to this day.

Chemistry: what's the Periodic Table of Elements? It's a way of setting out the names of all the known chemical elements so that the vertical columns contain groups or families with similar properties. It was devised in the 19th century by a Russian chemist called Mendeleev and has been in use ever since. An element, by the way, is a substance that cannot be decomposed into a simpler substance by a chemical process. Groups of elements come together to form compounds.
So, for example, a combination of the element hydrogen (H) and the element oxygen (O) can form the compound water (H2O).

Physics: what are conduction, convection and radiation? These are the ways in which heat is transferred from one "body" (that is, "thing") to another. Put simply, conduction means that a cool thing -- whether solid, liquid, or gas -- is warmed up by coming into contact with a hot thing. Convection occurs in liquids and gases and is the basis of the principle that hot air rises. A hot liquid or gas is generally less dense than a cool one; as the hot particles rise, cooler ones rush in underneath to take their place. The hot particles, having risen, cool and come down again, and so on. Radiation involves the energy that all objects emit. It is the only one of the three methods that works in a vacuum and is how the sun's rays manage to warm the Earth from so far away.

Art: who was Jackson Pollock? He was what is called an Abstract Expressionist and he believed that the act of painting was more important than the finished product. His paintings are therefore highly colourful, often huge, and (like his life) chaotic to the point of frenzy. He died in a motor accident in 1956, aged only 44.

Music: why should I care about Johann Sebastian Bach? He was incredibly important in the development of classical music: without him, some say, there might have been no Haydn, no Mozart, and no Beethoven. He wrote mostly organ music, church music, and orchestral music; his most famous works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the St. Matthew Passion, The Well-Tempered Clavier, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. He had many children, including the composers Carl Philip Emmanuel and Johann Christian.

©2009 Caroline Taggart, author of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School

Author Bio
Caroline Taggart, author of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School, has been an editor of non-fiction books for nearly 30 years and has covered nearly every subject from natural history and business to gardening and astronomy. She has written several books and was the editor of Writer's Market UK 2009.

For more information please visit www.amazon.com

Guest Post: Judi Fennell

Judi Fennell Guest Blog, author of In Over Her Head

I love fairy tales, especially the Disney versions I grew up with. I love almost everything about them - the heroine in jeopardy, the (royal) guy who just has to save her, the villains, the action and adventure, the comeuppance and of course, the sidekicks.

So when it came time to put my own spin on the fairy tales (In Over Her Head was my twist on The Little Mermaid), I had to have the sidekicks.

Now, if your story takes place under the ocean, the sidekicks will have to be sea creatures.
And, of course, they have to talk.

The first sidekick to introduce himself to me, was Chumley Masticar. Chum, for short. Yes, I know, how silly was it to have a fish named Chum? The thing is, when I started writing this story, I didn't plan to write a humorous piece. But once you meet Reel, the hero, you'll see that I pretty much didn't have a choice.

Reel has an attitude. A swaggering, devil-may-care, life's-a-beach attitude and anything is fair game for him. His buddy needed to be able to keep up with him and not be a doormat.
Chum is that guy.

A remora (one of those fish you see stuck to sharks and manta rays and the occasional diver) who lost his sucker due to an unfortunate boat propeller incident, Chum has been loyal to Reel since the day Reel saved him from humiliating himself by having to beg for scraps from the lobsters. So when Reel gets called on the carpet, er, sand, for turning a Human, Chum is all about going along for the ride to make sure The Council gives Reel a fair hearing.

As for his posturing along the way? Well, when you're faced with a puffer fish who's overcompensating for his size, Chum is pretty fierce with his defense.

Another sidekick is Chipper, a young parrotfish with a dental problem. Chipper's out to prove himself and when he sees a Human in need of some help from a moray, the little guy zips right over to help. Never mind that he's been told time and again not to talk to strangers, he speaks moray, so he can help her out.

Our villain has to have her sidekicks of course, and since she's nasty, they have to be as well.
Sharks, by default of being sharks, are pretty nasty, but I think a more nasty-looking fish has got to be the barracuda. Have you seen their "teeth"? More like deadly spikes poking out from their bottom jaw, ready to turn your body parts into a sieve. *shudders

So, Ceto (the sea monster) has Mato and Rasgo.

If you speak Spanish, you'll recognize those words. Their verbs, actually, for "I kill" and "I tear" (as in lacerate). Needless to say, not two guys you'd want to meet in a dark tunnel... like our heroine, Erica, does.

Then there's the two pelicans, Amelia and Ernie, and Lancelot and Galahad, who transport Reel and Erica on their marlin-drawn chariot through the ocean. We've got talking starfish, chattering seahorses, the electric rays: Dufus One and Dufus Two as Reel likes to call them, whose real names are Bob and Ray-not much better... and a whole cast of characters on the ocean floor. Each one was a blast to get know, but also a hard act to follow when it came time to write the next books in the series.

I have to say, though, that after years of reading every Doctor Doolittle and Wizard of Oz book there is when I was a kid, my imagination is just peppered with talking animals, and what a tremendous pleasure to be able to introduce all of you to them throughout this series.
Here's one of my favorite passages from In Over Her Head:

"Surely this Council will understand? I mean, it was either that or let me die."

Chum cleared his throat. Which was another interesting thing to contemplate but she had enough on her shellfish plate as it was. "The Council wouldn't care if you'd died. Honestly, do you know how many Human idiots there are in the waters of the North Atlantic alone? Forget about the Great Barrier Reef. Why your kind ventures into that sharks' nest is beyond me. Talk about stupid. They should just dangle bait from their arms and be done with it. Then there's that whole shark-cage phenomenon-"

"Chum, if you don't mind, I'd like to stick to the subject," Reel said.

"Yeah, you're doing so well with that." Chum used his tail to scratch under his left pectoral fin.
"Look, Erica. Yes, I turned you when I shouldn't have. But it was either that or let you die."
"So you saved me to live on the bottom of the sea?"

"It was a split-second decision. I have to live with the ramifications as much as you do."

"Ramifications?"

Reel swiped a hand over his mouth.

"Who do you think is responsible for you now?" Chum pointed out. "Who has to keep you safe, teach you how to survive here? Provide you shelter? Teach you their ways so you'll be able to live among them because, trust me, you do not want to be an outcast in their world. All on the threat of death if he fails?"

"Do you mind?" Reel swam in front of the remora, the ripples from his kicks sending Chum tumbling to the other side of the room.

The ripples from his nudity sent her nerves tumbling around in her tummy.

"Look, Erica." His green eyes softened somewhat, and he had that glimmer of a grin starting. "I knew exactly what I was doing when I did it. Someone shot you. I couldn't let you die. It wasn't an option. So I did the one thing I could to protect you. I'm willing to deal with the fallout."

"Oh, God. Joey. I'd forgotten." She rubbed the sore spot on her head. "He threatened to shoot me."

"Looks like he succeeded," came the muttered grump from the far wall.
© Judi Fennell, Sourcebooks Casablanca, June 2009

Thanks so much for having me and I hope everyone enjoys In Over Her Head!

About The Author
Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to "get outside!" instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad's hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she's more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she's still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends' books.

A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she's received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to "dive in" to her stories.

Contest
To celebrate the release of each of her books, Judi Fennell and the Atlantis Inn (www.AtlantisInn.com) and the Hibiscus House (www.HibiscusHouse.com) bed and breakfasts are raffling off three romantic beach getaway weekends. All information is on Judi's website, www.JudiFennell.com

Guest Post: Norm Applegate

Blood Bar, is a vampire tale.

Vampires don’t exist...yet, on the brownstone back alley side streets of New York, a vampire dies. Desperate, his lover turns to Kim Bennett, author Norm Applegate’s quintessential heroine whose passion for S&M led to celebrity status as a hell-and-back murder mystery sleuth who’s been there, done that, and then some. This time, Kim finds herself caught between a secret vampire society’s attempts to locate The Black Testament (a sacred document written by Jack the Ripper), the modern-day vampire hunters bent on their destruction, and a white knuckled journey of self-discovery that catapults her into the bowels of hell and the arms of the ultimate vampire.......courtesy of The Haven, New York’s ultimate BLOOD BAR.

Blood Bar is Norm Applegate’s third book, and visit his website at www.normanapplegate.com it’s stuffed full of links to horror sites, authors, actors, and just good stuff.

Title: Blood Bar
Author: Norman Applegate
Paperback: 324 pages
Publisher: BLACK BED SHEETS BOOKS (January 31, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 098225301X
ISBN-13: 978-0982253014
Available: Amazon.com and on the Kindle

When and why did you begin writing?
Started writing in the 90’s while traveling to sharing my experiences with my wife. But began my first novel, Into the Basement in the mid 90’s. It took me a couple of years to get into the daily habit of writing, and reading everything I could about developing a story, it took a while to find the zone

Always wanted to write a book, didn’t know how, thought it was beyond my capabilities, but while working in New Zealand it began. The hypnosis career changed my life, and realizing nothing is impossible, began writing short notes, tales, and just life experiences to my wife back in the States.

Do you have a specific writing style?
Yes, I have found my voice. I weave factual information into the plot. For instance, in Blood Bar, a vampire tale, the references, and murder descriptions to Jack the Ripper are all real, as are the unknown facts about the Brooklyn Bridge, did you know John Roebling the builder, died before the bridge was complete, tetanus, cut on something they believe, I think he was bit by a vampire.

How did you come up with the title?
Blood Bar, A Vampire Tale...what the hell is a blood bar? Sounds creepy, but intriguing. The premise for Blood Bar, was what would happen if you found out you were turning into a vampire. Where else to be initiated but a bar. So I built the plot around my murder mystery sleuth and heroine Kim Bennett, she’s in my first two novels, murder at a bar for vamps, gothic dressed men and woman, and your basic role playing vampires, however it’s fertile ground for picking up fresh meat...if you like that sort of thing. Are you going ask if blood bar exists, I can’t disclose that here for fear of being arrested...blushing sinfully. But let me show you what I mean about the Blood Bar, here’s an excerpt.

Excerpt:
Surrounded at the bar, Kim’s thoughts were focused as her eyes became fixed on the ring, until she caught Rose glancing toward her chest eager to see what would be revealed beneath the tight fabric of her sweater.
“I dare you.”
“Very well.” Kim knew what to do next.
“There.” She exposed her swaying breasts, felt the cool air against her rubbery nipples, and leering eyes all over her.
Rose’s voice broke her concentration, “It’s not too late to say uncle.”
“Then what?”
“Run in fear the rest of your life, always wondering what the blood bar is all about.”
“I don’t run.”
“Then I dare you not to flinch.”
“Test me,” Kim said, "Really test me."
Rose shook her head and smiled, “You know what you’ve become don’t you?”
“A donor...”
“Not just a donor, you are my property,” Rose said.
Everyone’s attention was diverted to the look on Kim’s face as her eyes shot open when she felt the cool metal press against her skin. Kim followed the blade as it shimmered in the light, and with a strong steady hand, Rose carved a slit under her right breast. Slowly their eyes met, a furnace burned in Kim's chest with searing pain, and biting her lower lip, drew blood as she felt the full hell of blood bubbling from the wound.
The moment the blade penetrated, separating the plumpness of her skin, Kim’s mind came to attention. She was so well conditioned in her role as a submissive that her body instantly released a flood of endorphins like an explosion of fireworks on the 4th of July.
"Cut me," Kim said, "Make me hurt."
From the wet wound, droplets of blood emerged, which became a watery trickling, then turned to the familiar gore red syrup which wormed its way over her ribs.
At that precise moment, Nicolai crossed the room and as swift as the wind and just as silent, he positioned himself at the far end of the bar. His ice blue eyes were hidden behind dark recesses until he raised his angular chin and in the obscurity of the room, he met Kim.
“Is it burning?” Rose lowered her head toward Kim’s breast.
“Hell yeah.”
“This will take it away.” Her lips made contact, receiving the gift and the room filled with the odor of warm sweet iron.
A fiery sensation ran through Kim’s veins. The emotion was overwhelming and cradling her head, Kim pulled Rose tight into her body. The urge to be bled peaked with a soaring pulse rate as Kim, panting for air, reached out and cupped her breasts. The heightened sexual frenzy of anticipation had Kim moaning with pleasure. She arched her back, felt a warming sensation run through her stomach, squeezed her thighs together until they throbbed and felt her face slowly flush sinfully.
Drugged from the embrace, Kim lazily looked down the long shiny length of the crowded bar. Lust was in the eyes of every man and woman watching Rose feed, and at the end of the bar Kim locked eyes with the vampire and couldn’t let go.
Nicolai smiled his approval, slowly nodded his head and felt the beast inside explore perverse thoughts. The two of them never lost eye contact, and while everyone was studying Rose, Nicolai studied Kim.
Seconds turned into minutes and felt like time stood still as Rose nourished. “I love the feeling of blood gushing down my throat,” she said. In her rapture, she was able to control the craving before draining Kim of too much life, and lifting her head up for air, she kissed her on the lips. Instinctively Kim responded.
Like in a drug induced state, Kim’s body began to shut down, the dizziness took over, her eyes began to close, then Rose placed Kim’s head on the bar. With her mouth open and thin drool seeping out, Kim’s half closed bedroom eyes remained fixed on Nicolai.
“I love you,” Rose whispered into her ear. “It’s all good, let yourself dream.”
Vibrant colors flashed before her eyes, feeling no pain and dancing to the thoughts of making love to the devil's thrashing as he rode her like a dog, she drifted in and out of reality.
Erin Roberts was working the floor, preparing drinks and watched the whole episode play out until distracted by Nicolai’s focus. Between the passion she felt for him and the embrace between the girls, Erin was more than curious about Kim.
As the evening wore on, Kim began emerging from her stupor, and stared into space for a moment thinking about all she had been through, and then she remembered where she was. She looked up, rubbed her eyes and watched the room slowly come into focus.
“That is as close to an orgasm I could ever have without actual sex,” Kim said with a sultry tone that brought a smile to Rose’s face.
“I missed you.”
Brushing her hand through Kim’s hair, Rose looked at her and smiled. It was the signal Kim needed; she reached over, kissed her on the lips and eased her tongue forward as she accepted the invitation of her open mouth.
“I feel really close to you right now,” said Rose.
“Hold me.”
“Your skin feels cool, you okay?” Rose asked.
“Yes,” Kim responded immediately, “I’ve been here before.”
What Kim was referring to was the bond that develops during an intense S&M edge play. The high experienced from this, combined with the mental submission of giving yourself to someone, is infatuating.
Rose smiled, “They call it a blood bond.”
“I like it,” Kim whispered.
Rose understood. She had found satisfaction in being both a donor and a consumer. “Still feel weak?”
Kim’s face had lost all color and Rose was right, she was weak. “Yeah, it’s a strange feeling.”
“Not your cup of tea?” Rose inquired.
“Contraire mademoiselle, give me a drink and I’ll go again."
“Now do you believe in blood bars?” Rose asked.
Before she answered, Kim realized all around her were groups of two, three and as many as five people feeding off one another. It was a decadent orgy of the most sinful kind. Strangers meeting at a hidden away bar to engage in blood play.
Kim looked peaceful, and turned to Rose, “I like this place.”

What are your current projects?
Just finished re-editing Into the Basement, was never happy with what my previous publisher did to it. Next is the screenplay to Basement, written by Nicholas Grabowsky and myself, we have a producer/distributer interested, and the movie is cast with Courtney Gains, then my next novel in the Kim Bennett series that I’m tentatively calling Black Sun Rising, is another vampire tale. You can go to www.intothebasementthemovie.com to read more about the cast, director J.L. Botelho, and see his trailer for Into the Basement...it’s wicked, prepare yourself, you don’t want little kids watching this, seriously don’t let your kids see this.

Blood Bar on Amazon.com

www.normanapplegate.com

Guest Post - Laurie Brown

Thank you for the lovely review. It’s so gratifying to know all the hard work has been worthwhile.
And writing is hard work. Sure everyone can write, a memo, a letter, a school paper. But to put together four hundred manuscript pages (and have them flow and make sense) takes many hours with just the writer and the computer. Then there’s hours of re-write. And editing. And… you get the picture. I think it would be impossible to do if it weren’t a labor of love. I fall in love with my heroes and want to be my heroine’s best friend. I get caught up in the moment of the plot as if it was happening all around me.

I was working on one book and was near the end where there was a wedding. I had spent so much time with those characters that tears were literally pouring down my cheeks as I typed toward the emotional I dos. My teenage son saw me and came over to awkwardly pat my shoulder. “It’s gonna be alright,” he said. I nodded and tried to explain that I was crying because it was so beautiful, that the characters finally got the happy ending they so desperately deserved. He just shook his head and walked away muttering under his breath something about hoping crazy wasn’t a genetic condition. I didn’t bother with a retort because I was already back into the scene and there was still more to write.

Spending so many hours with a book is one of the reasons I like to add a little humor to my work. I have to for my own sanity. Don’t look to me to write anything dark and angst-y. Not that there’s anything wrong with that kind of book, it’s just that can’t seem to do dark. Maybe because I’d rather laugh than cry. (Unless there’s a wedding.) Although after reading the same passages four or five times I’m never sure anymore if it’s really as amusing as I first thought it was. That’s why I’m always glad to hear readers say they laughed out loud at a particular line of dialogue or a scene.

In my latest release What Would Jane Austen Do? I sent a modern heroine back in time to 1814 to meet the real Jane Austen. Eleanor has to cope with Regency society, lack of plumbing, and corsets, all without chocolate. She also attends a ball, prevents a duel, helps solve a mystery for two ghosts, and meets the sexy rake, Lord Shermont. I hope it’s as fun to read as it was to write.

Whatever type of books you like, happy reading,
Laurie Brown

Author Post: Robin Kaye

Robin Kaye Guest Blog

A Blog of Books; May 5, 2009

When I wrote Romeo, Romeo, I thought I was writing a stand-alone book. When I sold Romeo, Romeo to Sourcebooks, the first thing Deb Werksman, my editor, said to me was what’s the next book in the series? The next book? What book? So, I did what I usually do, I punted and pitched Too Hot To Handle, Dr. Mike Flynn and Annabelle’s book.

The only problem with Too Hot To Handle was that Annabelle, the heroine, wasn’t very likeable in Romeo, Romeo. Of course, being the author that I am, I knew there was more to Annabelle then just a nasty attitude. There was some major baggage causing all that attitude. At the time, however, I hadn’t delved deeply into the reason. When I started writing Too Hot to Handle, that had to change. In the first scene all the baggage jumped out at me. It all started with the first line, “Ghosts don’t have sex, do they?”

After I wrote that first line, I knew all there was to know about Annabelle’s baggage. When, in the book, Annabelle had been going to art school several years before, she falls in love and gets engaged to Chip Larsen, the twin brother of her roommate, Becca. Chip dies of cancer and Annabelle returns to Brooklyn after his death. Her family doesn’t know Chip existed because she and Chip lived together and that is unacceptable in the Ronaldi family. When she comes back home, her family assumes that she runs home with her tail between her legs because she can’t make it on her own which, in their minds, is not unexpected.

For the two years since Chip’s death, which occur before the book begins, Annabelle gets very good at repressing her feelings. It works well until, at her sister Rosalie’s wedding, she runs into Mike who has an uncanny resemblance to Chip. After way too much champagne, Mike and Annabelle return to her new apartment and fall into bed together. The next morning, hung over and confused, she awakens with Mike wondering if ghosts have sex. Either she is sleeping with the ghost of her dead fiancé—in which case he’s learned a few things since his demise—or she is in bed with a total stranger.

Mike also comes with a fair amount of baggage. He’s worked his way through college and med school and is up to his stethoscope in debt. He’s in the process of buying his way into a practice when he finds out that one of the partners is a malpractice suit waiting to happen. This is definitely not the right time to find the woman of his dreams.

There are obstacles to overcome for both our hero and our heroine. But if there weren’t twists and turns in the relationship, Too Hot to Handle would be a very short book. And what would be the fun of that?

SEVEN WAYS & SEVEN DAYS TO RENEW YOUR LIFE
By Carole Lynne,
Author of Cosmic Connection: Messages for a Better World

To renew and reinvent our lives, WE NEED A PLAN! Here it is: a seven-day process to work with over and over. This plan incorporates physical, mental and spiritual work. Use the whole seven-day process, or choose any one of the days to work with as you create the life you want.

DAY 1: RE-CHARGE A Day of Commitment

Focus on changing your mind-set: This is the day to change the thought patterns playing in your mind. Get rid of phrases such as "I can't." "Why does this happen to me?" "Things always seem to go wrong." "After three bad things happen, life will change for the better." Insert thoughts such as "I can do it." " There are creative solutions to any problem."

Create a visual logo that works for you: Imagine the ocean or the lake, water falls, butterflies, sunshine, moonshine --- whatever works for you. Note the image or images that work for you, and if you begin to feel negative, simply bring one of your positive images to mind. Your image is your logo for positive energy.

Tools for Day 1: Motivational books, music, dance, art, all that is inspirational.

DAY 2: RE-VAMP A Day of Planning

• What changes do you need to make in your home?
• What changes do you need to make in your office?
• What changes do you need to make in your exercise routine, OR do you need to begin an exercise routine (with doctor's permission of course)?
• What changes do you need to make in your diet?

Tools for Day 2: A notebook and pen, or computer.

DAY 3: RE-CYCLE A Day of Throwing Out

Choose an area of your home, your garage, your backyard, and clean it out thoroughly. Have three boxes set up: one for things to keep, one for things to repair, and one for things to give to others. The hard work begins.

Do not tackle your whole house on this one-day. This seven-day program can be repeated again, and each time you can choose a new area. You can repeat Day 3 every week for six weeks.

Tools for Day 4: Boxes to sort things in, vacuum cleaner, broom, dust rags, music to play to cheer yourself on through this hard day of work.

DAY 4: RE-FRESH A Day of Refreshment

This is a day of reward. If you cleaned out your office or home on day 3, then refresh this space with a new plant or bunch of flowers. Give yourself a present. Open the windows and make sure the light can shine in.

Tools for Day 4: A present for yourself.

DAY 5: RE-TURN A Day of Spiritual Contemplation

This is a day to contemplate your spiritual values and re-turn to the values that are important to you. This is a quiet day of soul searching. In the past two days you have re-cycled some of your belongings and you have refreshed an area of your house or office: you did a lot of physical work. You were involved with a lot of "things." Today, focus on the soul level. Sit and connect with the God of your understanding and ask questions:

• What is the meaning of my life?
• What am I here to do in this lifetime?
• What am I proud of and what advances have I made in my life?
• Which areas of my life need work?

This is the day to take an honest look at the way you spend your time, the people you associate with, the worries that occupy you too much, the fears that you allow to control you, the anger you may have towards others.

Tools for Day 5: An honest heart and an inquiring mind.

DAY 6: RE-INVENT A Day to Change Patterns

Yesterday was an assessment day. It was a hard day. Today is a day to make plans to change the parts of your life that need changing.

• Do you have health problems you are not facing? Make an appointment with a health professional or get back to taking care of yourself in the way that you know is best for you.
• Are you allowing the problems of others to dominate your life? If so this is a day to make plans to change your schedule. If you are a caregiver, find creative ways to get time off. And do not say, "There is no way." Find out what your community has to offer. If the person you are taking care of does not want to receive care from others, then you must be strong and explain that you have to have time off.
• If you spend all your time compassionately listening to others, remember that you will burn out if you do not have time for yourself. We all know this, but we do not always allow time for ourselves.

Tools for Day 6: A notebook, pen, computer, a telephone, appointment book.

DAY 7: RE-INVEST A Investment Day in All That is Positive

While I hesitate to use the word "re-invest" during this financial crisis, it is time to think about how to best spend your money, how to best spend your time. You have spent an entire week taking a look at your physical and spiritual life. Today is the day to take a good look at your financial life as well. Another coffee for five dollars may not be the best way to go. A lot of takeout food costs money. Are there ways to organize your cooking so that you do not pick up as much food?

Tools for Day 7: Your financial records, your checkbook, a willingness to make changes.

OKAY LET'S GET STARTED AND CHANGE OUR LIVES

©2009 Carole Lynne, author of Cosmic Connection: Messages for a Better World

Author Bio
Carole Lynne is the author of Cosmic Connection: Messages for a Better World. She is also the author of the award winning book Consult Your Inner Psychic, and How to Get a Good Reading From a Psychic Medium. To learn more about Carole Lynne visitwww.carolelynnecosmicconnection.com or www.carolelynne.com

Guest Post: J.W. Nicklaus Author of The Light, The Dark & Ember Between

It all starts at the heart . . .

An astronomer doesn’t just gaze at the stars; she looks into them, through them. The fledgling botanist hunches tenderly over a single daisy studying the petal pattern, then glances up in quiet awe at the spread of wildflower color and patterns present in a meadow full of flowering life.

What do they both have in common? A passion that drives them from within. It’s not something that can be taught, but that’s not to say it can’t be learned. Sometimes it doesn’t take much at all to start a flame anew from a glowing ember.

I’ve known plenty of people who have told me they would love to be able to write better, or even write a book they’ve always had tumbling about in their heads. For some it comes down to simple lack of confidence, while for others it may be fear of rejection. Both only need to be acknowledged and accepted. It’s that easy, and that complex. But like the amateur stargazer or budding botanist, all you really need is that inner voice urging you forward. Somebody, somewhere, will love to read your story, whatever form it may take—not everybody, but if you make so much as one person smile, think, or feel, then isn’t that worth all the effort?

What if you haven’t so much as written the first sentence of your tale? Don’t worry about that, for I guarantee it’s safely stowed and locked away in a tiny sanctuary in your heart. You’ll find it again, I promise. In the meantime read anything and everything. Read what interests you, read for information, read for the sheer pleasure of the act. Most importantly, read with an open mind. Then, if you have the opportunity, discuss what you’ve read with others. The internet is one place to start with if you prefer some level of anonymity. Look for forums or bulletin boards that pertain to your current obsession; it doesn’t matter if it’s discourse on the variants of butter pound cake recipes or heated debate over the virtues of rice paper over tissue paper for origami. Get involved! Search your local newspaper (if you still have one *sigh*) for interest groups that pertain to your particular pursuit.

Reading or writing groups are great for learning the ins and outs of writing. They can seem a bit intimidating at first, but if you remain open to it, and positively constructive, then you can glean an amazing amount from those who have been in your shoes at some point or other.

Next arises a really interesting phenomenon: the urge to write will come to you, unbidden, at the strangest times, moreso as you start writing more often. You’ll be driving and see something, or hear something on the radio that will fire a spark, make some cerebral synapse flare. To pay it disregard is to cheat yourself from exercising your passion. Write as often as you can, as often as you read if possible. Remember, not everything you write will be for public consumption (unless you want it to be). The mere act of writing strengthens links which were once weak.

“Okay,” you say, “I’ve read all my life, and I’ve been trying to write. When do I become an author?”

“When you can snatch the pebble from my hand, Grasshopper.” Simply stated, when you’re ready to be. When you’re comfortable enough to have others parse through your words and thoughts. When you can accept another approach and then re-work it into something stronger. When you can see through the words and understand their proper place in the universe that is your story. When you can see how every letter in your words brings forth the subtle color and evocative feelings that your paragraph ‘meadow’ contains.

You’ll know when you’re ready, just as the astronomer and botanist know. That little voice inside you will tell you . . . but you have to listen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J.W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer.

An Arizona native, he’s been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. College brought an AA in Journalism with a minor in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. His work experience has run the gamut from Creative Director for a small advertising firm in Tucson to a litigation support bureau in Phoenix (and assuredly some awkward stuff in the mix).

Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless cli-mate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm.

He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible.

Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She.

For more about J.W. visit www.avomnia.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A collection of short stories, each a splinter's reflection of the human condition, firmly centered upon our oft tenuous, sometimes tensile bond with Hope, and careening flirtation with Love.

Fifteen stories: From the wispy fog of a love lost at sea, to an orphaned child who delivers a present of her own during a war-torn Christmas. These stories are gentle reminders to each of us of what it is to be human, and certainly of our affinity for the slightest glint of Hope.

Guest Post - By Meg Wolitzer, Author of The Ten Year Nap: A Novel

Mothers of Contention and the Money Wars
By Meg Wolitzer,
Author of The Ten Year Nap: A Novel

What will become of the mommy wars in the flailing economy? My fantasy (and it is just a fantasy) is that they will eventually fade into obscurity like, say, the Punic Wars -- relics from a past that seems to have taken place a very long time ago. The idea of working mothers pitted against non-working mothers in a sort of mud-wrestling championship -- in which the winner gets what, exactly? -- has a kind of luxury about it that many people, whether they work or not, suddenly no longer feel. While motherhood and work questions have special urgency and relevance in this crisis -- What happens when women leave the workforce to stay home with their kids? What are the financial implications down the line? etc. -- the rush to judgment is something for fatter, softer times. I haven't seen an appreciable increase in hostility or smugness on anyone's part. And I haven't heard about the publication of a new, lacerating non-fiction book called Ha Ha I was Right, or one called Even If I'd Been Working All This Time I Might Have Been Laid Off Like My Husband.

Maybe, instead -- and a girl can dream -- a kind of tolerance is taking over, fueled by the sense that the family of the woman who works and the family of the one who doesn't are both in trouble. A friend of mine says that she's been paying attention at drop-off at her daughter's school, trying to figure out whether or not different parents are working, and what their stories are, based on how they're dressed and other cues. The formerly suited-up man in his early thirties who now appears every weekday morning on the sidewalk in front of the school in casualwear: did he lose his job, or is he working from home? And the woman who until very recently spent hours volunteering at the school library, and who now hurries into the subway: has she traded Laura Ingalls Wilder for, say, Morgan Stanley? Or is she just out there looking? It's really hard to know what's going on in the enclosed world of anyone else's family, unless they're willing to talk.

And many people, right now, are talking. There's a new jabber in the atmosphere. You barely have to say anything at all, on a street corner or on line at the bakery or in a phone conversation, and the other person immediately knows what you're talking about: "Yes, things are terrifying," and "I know, I know." The financial crisis belongs to one-income and two-income families, as well to the families of the suddenly unemployed, who all share ownership of this strange new thing they don't yet understand.

Though the mommy wars have addressed real and powerful questions, even dipping lightly into those conversations could leave you shaking and defensive. It's still true that, even now, there isn't only one definitively right way to have a life. Regardless of this crisis and its cautionary-tale elements (of which there are many), I think it's a given that people still want to find some way to make their own individual decisions about work and home and motherhood.

Women who work full-time or part-time and those who stay home with their kids (as well as those who now spend their days answering help wanted ads on craigslist) may not experience Helen Reddy solidarity. It may be way too soon to speak about the mommy wars in the past tense, for no one has solved the problem of ambivalence about staying home versus working, or the lack of good, cheap daycare; and no one has found a way for some women not to feel they're damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Maybe not even the full-scale meltdown of the economy can keep these particular, familiar wars from raging. But it can try.


©2009 Meg Wolitzer, author of The Ten Year Nap: A Novel

Author Bio
Meg Wolitzer is the author of seven previous novels, including The Position and The Wife. Her short fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories and The Pushcart Prize. She lives in New York City.

To purchase The Ten Year Nap please visit http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594483547,00.html?The_Ten-Year_Nap_Meg_Wolitzer

Guest Author: Kim Hanks Author of Save the Best for Last

Character inhabiting in my book are not me and not you

Sincerely, I have seen crime novelist creating ruthless characters. But these writers' are not killers that they're writing about their killing practices. And creating a top notch bandit in a book doesn't imply that the writer is best at what is written. So, this is the same case, I'm not in my book in any way because I don't think my life did anything inspiring the idea of Save the Best for Last.

In my epic fantasy novel, save the best for last. I created zwick living in a small town of green oasis. The first book and latest in the series of save the best for last and up to this time I live with all the characters in my book because they're real to me. I have seen Zwick suffering through the death of a stunning Whitney, he's reborn after the trial consequences, and become a hero of his town. From being a choking guy, he's found a new romantic beauty Rai at the same school.

Zwick's, a handsome young man whose decision to date Rai as it was the only way to erase memories of Whitney from his head. Rai studied along with Zwick and they were of great help to each other during school times. Rai was also facing several challenges and great danger because of what she was.

When I'm writing about these people, I get inside them and peer out through the eyes. This way I can write about what each one's wearing, seeing, feeling, hearing and pain. They are as significant to me as any of my relatives or friends. In fact, I know them better than anyone because I created them.

Guest Post - Pulp Faction: Can it get you in or out of trouble?

By Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, Author of Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion

My first book, Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion, is a dark comedy based on the facts of my life. Most events are drawn from actual experiences; however, for the purpose of story momentum, I collapsed time, conflated characters, invented dialogue, and made a bunch of stuff up, purely for dramatic impact. Because so many first time authors draw heavily on their personal lives, I have always felt we needed to create a category for this genre of work. If it were up to me, I’d call it Pulp Faction.

Embracing Pulp Faction as a literary genre would give writers an outlet for blurring fact and fiction, which—if used properly—would have kept some of the big fat liars who promoted “true stories” on Oprah out of so much trouble. Like me, they could answer most queries about story details with, “I was so immersed in recreating the literary truth of my story, I know longer know what was true of those times.” And I kid you not. When people ask about what is and is not true about a certain scene in the book, I have to think long and hard. I was so embedded in the fantasy of my real life—fleshing it out with words and sensory detail—that those scenes became as real to me as any other memory I hold dear. That’s why, for the most part, I don’t believe anything I have to say about my past. And luckily, according to many great spiritual leaders, my past is irrelevant. In fact, it mostly muddles my ability to enjoy what’s going on in life today.

Pulp Faction not only can save a writers reputation by helping us sidestep the questions about “truth,” the mere process of transmuting the facts of our lives into a narrative with momentum allows us observe how much of our lives are boring, tedious, repetitive and superfluous to forward movement. This is helpful in day-to-day living. Through the experience of turning my life into literature I’ve learned that most of what I do, say and experience is irrelevant and ultimately meaningless—that most of our lives are pure fantasy and perception, made up out of the way we spin-doctor events to serve our theories or purposes at the time. Thus I’ve learned there is really is no real truth to my story, or anyone’s—only highly personal lessons and insights. For me, this is good news. Understanding that no one has the right version, or wrong version, of ANYTHING that is going on, allows me to relax more, accept others as they are, and take things much less seriously.

The only area I don’t think Pulp Faction gets you off the hook, is with the family members. I have a very large, opinionated, and supportive family, most of whom, for a variety of reasons, have terrible boundaries. For that reason, I didn’t get into too much trouble with any of them regarding the family secrets I shared. (My people seem to like any kind of attention.) The most criticism I got was from the family members who felt I’d left them out.

Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion, Mary Patrick Kavanaugh’s work of Pulp Faction, is available through her website at www.MyDreamIsDeadButImNot.com as well as www.Amazon.com

Guest Post - Barbara Worton, Author of Too Tall Alice

Here's the best advice I can give you, and it's an invitation to stand tall with Too Tall Alice.

In Too Tall Alice, I learned that I am just the right height for me and I could see myself, really see myself having a very beautiful day. If you stand tall with me, whether you are worried about being too short, too skinny, too fat or lots of other things you might be anxious about, I’m here to tell you that it’s all going to be okay because I learned to see me, the real me. And now I know I can be anything I want to be. And you can too!

Sometimes it’s good to turn around the mean things people say and the things you worry about. I do this by thinking positive thoughts and doing good things too. Here’s a list of my favorite ways to stand tall:

• Think about things that make me happy and smile a lot.
  
  
• Say four nice things to myself a day--stuff like, I'm cool, I'm smart, My mom and dad love me, I'm a good kid.
  
  
• Believing in myself is cooler than a new pair of sneakers. It's knowing I'm worth a lot, just the way I am.
  
  
• I think about all the things I like about myself and the nice things people say about me.
  
• I don't compare myself to others.
  
  
• Doing my best IS enough.
  
  
• I forgive myself when I make a mistake and say I'm sorry if my mistake touched someone else.
  
  
• I try my hardest to be a good friend and see the best in people.

Author Post: Bruce Skye

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A former technical writer, detail is important to Bruce Skye. His research for the Deathsong Chronicles included medieval armor and fortresses, as well as Celtic names and magic. "If you create a world, it must be consistent. And that's what I strive for Grayrider's world to be. I've built a database of material for each of the Deathsong Chronicles. Those databases aid me in keeping the world the same from book to book.

"When I wrote Grayrider, I followed the advice of Stephen King. I did not write the book following any sort of outline. I have no more idea than my readers do when I write a novel what will happen in the midst of the story. It makes it more exciting for both the readers and myself."

You can visit his website at www.bruceskye.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Gabriel, the exiled king of Rivalin, comes before King Airell to warn him the Ansgarian army will invade his kingdom before the night is over. Airell tells him he has no one to send. Gabriel wants revenge for the murder of his family by the Ansgarians. He decides to fight the incursion without help.

As this takes place, Deirdre (Airell’s daughter), flees the kingdom of Cynyr north of Boadhagh. She knows now her mentor, Morrigan, created the Ansgarian army her father has fought for years. She goes south to warn him of her. Because Deirdre does not believe in herself, the young sorceress has difficulty in performing magic.

Once she is reunited with her father, she tells both he and Grayrider about Morrigan. Her power is growing; only Gabriel’s magical sword may yet destroy her. He must go to Cynyr to fight her. He agrees if Deirdre attends him, seeking her counsel. On that journey they fall in love and foil many efforts by Morrigan to kill Gabriel by both armies and sorcerers.

Grayrider fights Morrigan and sees his beloved slain by the sorceress before he is finally able to kill her. He returns to Rivalin brokenhearted. The ending is a complete surprise the reader will not expect at all.

GUEST POST:

When I wrote Grayrider, I followed the advice of Stephen King, who has written never to use an outline when writing a novel. And I have found that advice to be sound. I say that because of the number of reviewers who have commented on the number of plot twists the book contains.

I believe keeping the reader guessing about what may happen next is part and parcel of entertaining them. I want to keep my readers on the edge of their seats. I do that because that’s the kind of book I want to read.

Complex plotlines can be accomplished in various ways. But all of them should center on your characters. How will the hero do if the villain does this? If you know your characters and how they will respond to various situations, creating plot twists is easy. As well, the villain’s machinations can be a rich source for storyline twists.

This leads to an associated point: your characters themselves. Giving literary characters depth and background is important. It allows readers to “get into” the story. One reviewer wrote of Grayrider:

Volume One of The Deathsong Chronicles follows the pursuits of the noble Gabriel and his love, beautiful Deirdre. As battles ensue and the throne of Rivalin becomes an option for Gabriel, I found myself pulled into his life and cheering him on. Grayrider and his enemies and friends aren't one-dimensional, as they often are in this genre.

I write fantasy novels. But my heroes are both realistic and appealing so readers will want them to win. That also leads to suspense, for if you’re pulling for the hero to get through this deadly obstacle, you’ll keep reading to see if he does. Secondly, even though magic is a stable of this genre, having “real” people as characters makes the story much more credible to readers.

As I said before, my goal is to entertain my readers.

Kristin Hannah author of True Colors

Guest post by Kristin Hannah author of True Colors



All it takes is a quick look at the last ten books I've written, and it's easy to see that I'm a Pacific Northwest kind of gal. Washington state is more than simply where I live; in a way, this blue and green corner of the world defines me. One of my first queries when I begin working on a book is the setting. Where does this story take place? What I'm looking for is a place that can become almost a character in the book. An area that can be pure platinum to the jewel of the story. As a I reader, I find that there's a lot of fiction set in the Northeast and the South, but we in the west are woefully underrepresented. That's a loss I try to quietly combat.

In Firefly Lane, I chose a particularly personal setting, which made sense because Firefly was a deeply personal book. Like the characters in the novel, I grew in rural western Washington and went to the University of Washington. The book, which follows two women and their thirty year friendship, allowed me to pull back the curtain on a Washington state that doesn't exist anymore. On my fictional tour, you'll be taken to the old roller rink where I first learned that women could rock out (the group turned out to be Heart), to the town's first coffeehouse, where you got a cup of drip coffee and talked about the politics of the day. Remember that? When you used to sit down for coffee and only had one cup a day???


Honestly, after all the soul baring I did in Firefly Lane, I was ready to pull back a little, to take my own life out of the mix. That was my intent when I began True Colors, anyway. It wasn't until the question of setting that I found my own life creeping back into the story. First, I chose a wild, wonderful, secret part of the state, where I LOVE the beach, and secondly, I added in horses. As a girl, I was one of those horsey chicks. I grew up on acreage, with my horses in the pasture beside the house. From the time I was thirteen on, my horse was one of my very best friends. And best of all, my mom and I were together for horse shows. Many of my favorite mother-daughter memories take place in a dusty old barn somewhere, or sitting side by side in the front of our true.

In True Colors, I'll give you a glimpse into a world you might not know--a world filled with men and women who are connected to one another through their love of horses. Of course, the book is about more than horses--it's about a shocking crime, a stranger who comes to town and may or may not be dangerous, sisters who find themselves on opposite sides of the law, and a town that is changed forever by murder.

I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This past year I have been fortunate enough to speak to many, many book clubs about Firefly Lane, and I look forward to talking to even more about True Colors.

Aloha for now--

Kristin